FYI, This was posted on the ARRL site today, see http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/11/100/?nc=1
K5XU League Asks FCC to Postpone, Modify Part of 75-Meter Band Change NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 11, 2006 -- In separate petitions today, the ARRL asked the FCC to postpone the change in allocation for 3600 to 3635 kHz while it considers a request to maintain the status quo in the segment. The so-called "omnibus" Report and Order (R&O) in WT Docket 04-140, which included moving the lower edge of the Amateur Extra 75-meter phone band to 3600 kHz, is set to go into effect Friday, December 15. The League wants the Commission to rectify the "unintended consequence" of the expansion by moving the dividing line between the narrowband and wideband segments of 80/75 meters to 3635 kHz. This would keep 3600 to 3635 kHz available to General and higher licensees for RTTY, data and CW and open to Novice and Tech Plus licensees for CW. The requested change also would maintain access to the automatically controlled digital subband, 3620 to 3635 kHz. In a Petition for Reconsideration, the League emphasized that it was not seeking reconsideration of the entire 75-meter phone band expansion. "Rather, we ask only that the Commission restore the privileges unintentionally withdrawn from those who operate and who utilize automatically controlled narrowband digital stations between 3620 and 3635 kHz," the League said. The ARRL pointed out that while the R&O left unchanged rules permitting automatically controlled narrowband digital in that segment, it eliminated RTTY and data as permitted emissions above 3600 kHz. The ARRL also filed a Petition for Partial Stay of Effective Date of Rule pending final action on its reconsideration petition. To justify its far greater-than-requested expansion, the League asserted, the FCC relied on the flawed logic of a handful of commenters who specifically asked for a 3600 to 4000 kHz phone band. Some commenters had made the case during the proceeding that the "CW subband" is vastly underutilized while space for SSB is at a premium. "It affects considerably more than just those two operating modes," the ARRL said of the expansion. "Narrowband RTTY and data modes are increasingly used at 80 meters as well, and substantial numbers of RTTY and data users stand to be displaced, as well as precluded entirely, by the extent of the telephony subband expansion there." The League contends the FCC contradicted itself by saying the rule revisions wouldn't result in any licensee losing spectrum privileges. "But operating privileges have been lost by the extent of the expansion at 80 meters," the reconsideration petition states. The expansion also significantly burdens and adversely impacts CW nets above 3600 kHz -- including emergency and public service nets -- most, if not all, of which will have to cease operating or change frequency, the League added. Most important, however, is the loss of spectrum for automatically controlled digital modes. The ARRL petition cites the comments of several League members decrying the loss of spectrum for PACTOR, CW and RTTY. "The Winlink 2000 system was cited as a best practice by several post-Hurricane Katrina reviews, including the Congressional 'Failure of Initiative' report," remarked ARRL South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator Jerry Reimer, KK5CA. The ARRL says shifting the band edge slightly upward would provide a "simple and equitable fix" to the obvious error in the R&O. "This is neither a minor matter nor an academic exercise in future band planning," the ARRL concluded. "It is an urgent problem which, unless corrected, affects a substantial number of existing Amateur Radio fixed facilities and an even more substantial number of mobile facilities." ______________________________________________________________ AMRadio mailing list List Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio Partner Website: http://www.amfone.net Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.html Post: mailto:AMRadio@mailman.qth.net
